GLVC tourney win highlights UIS men’s strong finish

Thursday

In a roller-season season, the University of Illinois Springfield men’s basketball team rode a high in the end.

The Prairie Stars won their first Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament game to reach the quarterfinal round.

“We got back to guarding and gave ourselves a chance,” UIS coach Ben Wierzba said. “We had different guys who could step up and score, but we had to stop people.”

The Stars produced a 10-18 overall record and placed sixth in the GLVC East Division with a 5-13 record. They finished with two more overall wins and one less conference victory than the 2012-13 season.

UIS’ season can be broken down into three parts. The Stars got off to a 5-7 start that ended with 106-99 road win against Quincy. In the next 13 games, they went 3-10.

“We had a good first half of the season at home, then we come back from Christmas and lose close ones to Missouri-St. Louis and Truman State, and we beat Quincy,” Wierzba said. “Then, we lost our defensive intensity. We were giving up too many points there in that stretch.

“But the last three weeks of the season — even when we went to Lewis and Parkside — we played well.”

It was do or die the final week of the regular season. UIS survived the dismissal of leading scorer Jacob Williams for an undisclosed violation of team rules and pulled off a 78-61 victory against McKendree. The win earned the Stars a third straight bid to the GLVC tournament with the 12th and final spot.

The Stars’ fortunes took another turn for the better with a 78-72 upset win at fifth-seeded Truman State in the first round. UIS advanced to the quarterfinals where it fell 72-64 to defending NCAA Division II national champion Drury.

The loss closed the book on the careers of UIS senior guards Brandon Snowden and Regan Bruenger. Snowden averaged 10.5 points per game and exits the leading career scorer in the school’s brief Division II history with 550 points. Bruenger averaged 11 points a game and drained 30 3-pointers.

“We’ve got a good nucleus to build with,” Wierzba said. “We’ve got to plug in holes. We’ve got to get a wing since Regan is gone.”

Snowden’s defensive presence will also be missed. He was among the GLVC’s leaders in steals with 2.19 per game. Wierzba anticipates junior Kentrell King will assume the role.

“Kentrell’s defensive intensity the last three weeks was really good,” Wierzba said. “(Defense) is going to be his staple, especially being a ballhandler. With him being at point guard he can set the tone, so everybody has to follow his lead.”

“Hopefully by playing Mark off the ball next year I’m sure it’s going to open up more scoring opportunities for him,” Wierzba said. “Jamall came around and started to be more vocal and a leader toward the end of the year. Dylan was banged up pretty much all year and played through it, but when he was down on the block he could dominate the game for us in the paint.”

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